The founder and former head of Berlin’s Bread & Butter, Karl-Heinz Müller, is planning a new fashion trade fair platform, which is said to start already at the beginning of 2019, at the same time as Berlin Fashion Week. Industry insiders will not really be surprised as Müller announced already at the end of 2014, when Bread & Butter had to file for bankruptcy, a “guerilla fair on the streets of Berlin” in a letter to friends.

However, the new fair platform will not be held guerilla style and not on the streets of Berlin but again in Hangar 7 at Berlin’s former Tempelhof airport. Planned for 17th to 19th January 2019, it will coincide with Berlin Fashion Week, held from 15th to 18th January 2019, reported German trade journal Textilwirtschaft after speaking to Müller about his plans.

The new B2B platform L.O.C.K. - short for “Labels of Common Kin” - is meant for independent labels, outstanding manufacturers and authentic brands - “brands with heart and soul” according to Müller; small brands that are more dependent on wholesale than bigger brands and would thus appreciate a B2B platform.

As far as organising the fair is concerned, Müller has already come to an agreement with online retailer Zalando, who bought Bread & Butter and took over the rental agreement for Tempelhof, which runs until 2019. Müller is already in talks with potential exhibitors too. Now it remains to be seen whether the remaining two months will provide enough time to attract those exhibitors and trade visitors that L.O.C.K. is aiming for.